Maybe That's Why I Left
by GeekyNerdyFangirl
Summary: Juvia decided that life within Fairy Tail just wasn't her cup of tea, so she threw out the tea bag and spilled the contents down the drain. She's ready for a new life without said tea, filled instead with coffee and cocoa and other warm beverages (I think my tea metaphor is going a bit far), but it seems that life just prefers the British life style.
1. Chapter One: Gone

A/N

Hello everyone! This chapter has been rewritten recently, 'cause the idea just didn't fit in with what I have in mind for the whole fic, so you might wanna read it again, unless you're completely new here. In that case, welcome! Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, I'm just borrowing his toys and playing with them.

Chapter 1

Gone

The sun had been rising and falling above the Fairy Tail Guild for the past few weeks in a way one would have thought exceptionally ordinary and uninteresting, for it indeed was very much so, since the Water Mage's abrupt, yet not quite surprising departure. Everyone in the guild felt it daily, the feeling of something missing, though they weren't quite sure what, like a word just on the tip of your tongue that you can't quite catch however hard you try. It was Juvia, of course, who had left this little hole in the fabric of the community, though no one would ever be willing to admit that.

To tell the truth, they all felt rather injured (on their pride) by her sudden flee to god-knows-where. Her letter, you see, had been brief. Very short. And somewhat cutting, if I do say so myself. I don't quite remember the details, but I think it went something like this:

_Dear Fairy Tail,_

_Juvia is gone (she hopes her absence has been noted by now). She will not be returning to Fairu Tail, as she has already resigned. Her future, Juvia feels, is elsewhere (Juvia supposes this would be a good time to say something sentimental about gratitude and faith and friendship and life at the guild, but Juvia really couldn't care less at the moment). She doesn't feel happy at Fairy Tail and she intends to change that. _

_Juvia Lockster_

_P.S. Juvia wishes Gajeel-kun a happy life, as she believes he deserves it._

I remember thinking how strange it was, the way the guild reacted. Sure, they grew just a smidge more quiet, withdrawn even, but there was no trace of the remorse or sadness I had expected. They all just sort of…..took it. As if they could just sit through it and wait, like it was just a rainy day that would go by eventually, except it wasn't really, because Juvia was the rain and without her, it was just the sky crying.

Looking back, I feel a bit sad for them. The majority didn't even know why she left, and the rest probably just felt responsible. Not that they shouldn't feel responsible, mind you. To them, Juvia had always been the background, the backup vocals, a supporting character in a show where there were to many characters to begin with. Only Gajeel knew how she had felt.

I don't think anyone, least of all Juvia, ever really realized how much Gajeel knew and understood about the world. He cared about Juvia a lot, because he understood. Because he knew. He understood what it was like to unloved and feared and despised. He knew what it was to feel cold even in the hot glare of admiration, to feel your chest tighten even as you scored your greatest victory.

Gajeel probably loved her, you know. During that brief time they spent together at Fairy Tail. It was quite like him, picking something to love and protect from a distance, but never facing up his feelings. You really can't blame him for being distant, after all, Juvia was always after Gray, so it wasn't like he actually stood a chance.

That's another weird thing, Juvia liking Gray. He wasn't in any way what Juvia admired or cared for. To her, he ought to have been just an icy show off, a superficial distraction from Juvia's work. I never actually believed she loved him in Fairy Tail. She was just acting. Playing a role she made up herself instead of showing her vulnerability.

She was good at that, she lived off of it. One day, she was Juvia the Rain Woman, cold, distant and crazy, the next day, she was Juvia of Fairy Tail, weird, stalker-like and obsessed. Before those she had been Juvia the Thief, wicked, lost and cruel, and before that she was Juvia the barmaid, kind, sweet and poor, and before that she was Juvia the Orphan, bitter, lonely and begging in the streets.

She had had enough of that, of being a doll, trapped inside someone else's playhouse. Maybe that's why she left.


	2. Chapter Two: Back in Magnolia

It was a fine, sunny afternoon as the young woman walked alone through the streets of Magnolia, enjoying the feeling of spring in the air. Everything she did was commonplace. She greeted the baker, she skipped over a rock, she shooed away a pigeon. And then, she did something extraordinary. She smiled. Not a small, personal kind of smile. Oh no, it was a large, laughing and rather self-satisfied kind of smile. She then did yet another unexpected thing. She laughed. She laughed out loud and it was a laugh full of merriment and light-heartedness. She was happy.

She sat down in a little cafe and ordered a mug of hot chocolate. Just as she had begun sipping the hot chocolaty beverage, she noticed a disturbance in the street. A young man and woman, dressed in matching coats, presumably mages of the same guild, were fighting five hooded figures, who could, apparently, use magic and were bearing down on their opponents with an extremely menacing air.

Her instincts told her that neither the young woman nor her male companion would be able to hold on much longer and their fate, whatever it might be, wasn't going to be a very good one, She pondered the situation for a moment. Ought she? It might be dangerous to reveal herself just yet, but, then again, those two could really use some help. She sighed. Damn this all! Of course she'd help them.

Meanwhile in the minds of the two young mages...

"We can't win this, not against these guys! If I had Aquarius...never mind. I don't have her and there's nothing to be done about that. Goodbye everyone!" Yukino thought, before collapsing exhaustedly on the ground.

"Yukino!" Rogue shouted. It was no use. She was out cold. "Oh dear God, what will I do now? I'm exhausted, I can hardly summon any magic. We've already taken down thirteen of them! Besides, they've drained most of my magic." he thought despairingly.

Rogue stood against his foes alone, determined not to give up. He saw one of the hooded figures fire at him, but he couldn't fight back. It was as his mind were moving in slow motion. He closed his eyes, readying himself for the shot...that never came. He opened his eyes. In front of him stood a young woman, clad in wine red, her bluebell hair flying around her face, brandishing what appeared to be a sword made of a clear, sparkling substance.

The cloaked figures stood still for a moment, wondering what to do, until they heard her challenge mockingly "Hey! You gonna fight or not? I ain't got time for your shit! Fight or be fought!"

This time, her opponents did not waver and plunged into the battle with astounding viciousness. They were very good at what they did, but she was better. The fact that the woman was a water handler did not help them either, as their fire and earth magic no longer gave them the upper hand they had had when fighting Rogue's shadows.

The water handler was in her element. She loved the rush of blood in her veins and the tension that came with every battle. She twisted and turned, kicked and jabbed, more a dancer than a warrior in her elegance.

She was a whirlwind and her opponents bits of tumbleweed caught up in a storm. Water slid along her arms and wound around her waist in thin tendrils that leapt from her fingers onto her unsuspecting foes, snuffing out their blazing bodies.

These tendrils conjoined, transforming into a silvery sea serpent that slithered and swished faster than any living reptile was capable of doing, surrounding her enemies and keeping them from escaping her power.

She brought her hands together and, taking a deep breath, shouted "Poseidon's Sword!" thus attacking with a brutal force worthy f the mighty Titania herself.

The first figure fell to the ground.

She whirled around, jumping into the air and slicing with her sword.

The second figure fell to the ground.

She threw a dagger spinning to her left.

The third figure fell to the ground.

Only two remained. The water handler took one out with her sword and, as the fourth body fell, turned to face her fifth and final opponent. There was no one there. She searched the street with her eyes, but there was nobody suspicious in sight, so she turned her attention to the two mages.

Upon closer inspection, she realised that she recognized both very well. They were Yukino Aguria and Rogue Cheney, members of Sabertooth.

She conjured up a water stretcher and placed both bodies on it, before setting out to where she knew the Sabertooth guild to stand, the stretcher floating in tow.

She felt strange. She had just saved two mages belonging to a guild she used to have a full-time rivalry with and whom her past self would not have hesitated to attack. The funny thing was, she had jumped into the fight to save them almost thoughtlessly, without any regard towards their gildship, but she wasn't sure she would have done the same thing, if, instead of Sabertooth, the mages in need belonged to Fairy Tail.

There were some exceptions, of course. Gajeel was one. So was Titania, though she would be more likely to save her out of respect towards her abilities, rather deep mutual friendship, like she would have with Gajeel.

"Well, what do we have here. Do my eyes deceive me, or is it the Rain Woman, Juvia Lockster."

Juvia looked up. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, that she hadn't noticed the figure standing in front of her.

"Good morning to you, too, Sting Eucliffe. It is me, though I no longer go by that name to most people. It's been a while."

"That is one way of saying it. Why're you here?"

"Your little emo buddy and feather girl over here got into a bit of trouble. Thought I'd bring 'em here."

Sting's smirk faltered as he ran to Rogue's side. He was worried. That both Yukino AND Rogue should be defeated at once? That wasn't something that happened every day.

He turned back to Juvia. " What happened to them?"

It was Juvia's turn to grow serious. "Outnumbered and overpowered. Eight to one. It wasn't a pretty sight."

"Only eight to one?" Sting asked, his eyebrows creasing.

"Actually, I only saw them fight five to two, but I was able to check Rogue's memory for another thirteen before I stepped in."

"YOU stepped in?!"

"Of course, who do you think I am? I couldn't just let them be killed, especially since I have no feud with them."

"No feud?! And that's not what I meant. You speak of yourself in first person."

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know. I've resigned from Fairy Tail and I'm starting a new page in my life. Therefore, I no longer have any reason to hold anything against Sabertooth or to speak of myself in a condescending manner. I've changed a lot since you last saw me, Sting Eucliffe. I'm not the little girl I used to be."


End file.
